Window regulator mechanism



- Aug. 7, 1945. J. B. PARSONS 2,381,365

I WINDOW REGULATOR MECHANISM Filed Jan. 30, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Y Jakw5.}3a Lama J; B. PARSONS- WINDOW REGULATOR MECHANISM Aug. 7, 1945.

Filed Jan. so, 1943 2 Sheet-Sheet 2 gwua/wtom I Jahn B.Par 10n wouldPatented Ahg. 7, 1945 1 ass sts vvINDoW REGULATOR; MECHANISM John B..Parsons; Toledo. Ohio, assignor to. Malcolm WLFrase'r, Toledo, Ohio, astrustee Application January 30, i943, Serial No. 474,108

I f'eoiaims] (01. 268-426) This invention relates to regulator mechanismfor. vehicle 'windowssuch, tor example, as used onautomobile' bodies,but more particularly for actuating windows to positions covering and"uncovering. window openings and inwhich the opvposite edge portionsof-the window are guided for reciprocatory movement.

object is to produce anew andimproved window regulator of the above typehaving a pair of swinging arms adapted to be connectedfor windowactuation and so designedthat the structure can be manufacturedinexpensively in largescale production andwhich is materially simplerin. design than similar mechanisms heretoforein use and which can.bereadily and conveniently installed and operated.

Another. object is to produce a vehicle. window 7 regulator mechanismhaving a pair of swinging arms which are operated'by a rectilinearlyshifta-ble member movable in a plane generally crosswiseto the plane ofwindow movement.

A further object isto produce vehicle window regulator mechanism havinga pair of bell crank levers which are compactly arranged and to whichswinging movement is imparted by a longitudinally shiftable membermovable in a plane generally cross-wise with respect to the plane ofwindow movement.

A still further object is to produce a vehicle window-regulatormechanism of the swinging arm will hereinafter appear and for purposesof il- I lustration-but not of limitation, embodiments of the inventionare shown in the accompanying drawings-in which Figure 1 is a sideelevation of a regulator mechanism mounted in an automobile door,portions of the door'being broken away to show, the mechanism and viewedfrom. the outside of the'door'; 4 Figure- 2 is'a sectional elevationsubstantially on-the-l-i-ne 2e2 of Figure 1;"

Figure 3 isan enlargedsectionalview on the line 3-43 of Figure 1 showingthe common pivotal mounting forthe bell crank levers and the guide forthe longitudinally shiftable actuating bar Figure 4 is a side elevationof another form of regulator mechanism mounted in a vehicle door showingthe window in its raised or closedposition; and I I Figure 5 is a viewsimilar to Figure 4: but showing the window in its lowered or openposition.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated on Figures 1 to 3 inclusivecomprises a vehicle door l0 having a window opening II in which ismounted a window glass or panel I 2 for vertical sliding movementsbetween positions covering and uncovering the-window opening. The sideedges of the window glass are embraced by the usual guide channels [3for guiding the window movement; Embracing the lower edge portion of thewindow glass I2 is achannel member [4 to which is secured a pair oflaterally spaced depending retainers l5 and [5. Each retainer has alongitudinally elongate slot l6, provided with an enlarged opening [1 toenable assembly of the stud [8' fixed to the free end portions of theswinging arm bell'crank levers l9 and I9.

The bell cranks l9 and I9 constitute parts of'the window regulatormechanism and it will be observed that these bell crank levers aresubstantially identical with each other. Each bell crank lever has arelatively long arm at and a short arm 1! integrally connected by anangle portion 2. To aflord additional clearance, the longarm a: of eachlever has a slightly offset or angular portiono to militate against thelevers abuttingeach other during their swinging movements near theextreme upper and lower positions of the window glass. 1

The inner ends of the bell crank levers l9 and I9" are mounted forpivotal or swinging movements about'a common pivot and as shown, a stud.

20 extends through an opening in an outwardly embossed portion 2| of amounting plate or panel Swinging movement is imparted to the bell cranklevers l9 and H! by a longitudinally slid.- able bar 23 which, in thisinstance, is movable in a plane at substantially right angles to theplane' of movement of the window glass [2. Although the actuating bar 23is herein shown. as being moved atv substantially right angles to. thedirection of window movement, it is tobe understoodvthat thisarrangement may vary butinea'ch case it may be saidthat the actuatingbar moves embossing 2land the bar 23 is a washer disc 26. Washer 21 anda nut 28 engage the stud 20 on the opposite side of the panel embossing2|. From the above it will be manifest that-not only does the stud 20afford a common pivotal mounting for the inner ends of thebell cranklevers l9 and I9 but also assists in guiding the longitudinal slidingmovement of'the actuating bar 23,

Adjacent the inner end of the elongate slot 24 and fixed to the bar 23as by welding isa cross piece 29 which is disposed at substantiallyright angles to the bar 23 and has portions projecting upwardlyanddownwardly beyond the edges of the bar. A link 30 pivotally connects theupper end of the cross piece 29 tothe angle portion a of-the bell cranklever l9 and a link 3| pivotally connects the downwardly projecting endportion of the cross piece 29 with the angle portion .2 of the bellcrank lever 19'. A stud Illa is fixed to the arm 19 and is journaled inthe link 3| and a stud 29a is fixed to the cross piece 29 and is alsojournaled in the link 3|. g

It willthus be apparent that upon movement of the bar 23, the bell cranklevers l9 and I9 are caused to swing about the stud 20 as an axis andthereby impart movement to the window glass 12, the studs l8 on the freeor outer ends of the levers sliding in the horizontal slots IS in theretainers. It will be understood that upon'.

movement of the bar 23 to the left of Figure-l, the

force exerted by the links 30 and 3| cause the bell crank levers l9 andHi to swing in a clockwise and counterclockwise direction respectively,

thereby causing'the window glass l2 to .slidedownwardly toward its fullyopen position. Move ment of the bar 23 to the right of Figure lcausesmovement of the bell crankleversin the opposite direction to effectupward or closing movement to the window glass. I,

As shown, a spiral spring 32 has its inner end anchored to a slottedportion'of the stud 19a. The convolutions of the spring 32 from the studIlla extend in a counterclockwise directionwith the left to causedownward movement of the win dow glass l2, the clockwise movement of thearm [9' effects a winding up or coiling of the spiral spring 32 so thatwhen the bar 23 is actuated in I the opposite direction to effectraising of the window glass 12, the spring 32 assists in, that movement.g

The operation of the spiral spring32 and its spring arm 32a. isimportant inasmuch asMit greatly facilitates the action of theregulator.

Assuming that the window glass I2 is in its lowered or open position asindicated by the broken lines on Figure 1, it will be understood thatthe spring arm 32a exerts a downward component of force against the bellcrank l9 tending to rotate it in a counterclockwise direction.

movement, and when the long arm or arm a: is

in a substantially horizontal position and the short arm y of the bellcrank I9 is in an up and down osition, the spring arm 32a then exerts adownward component of force against the stud [9a but due to the positionof the short arm y, such force is ineffective since it is a directdownward force against the stud 20. At that time, however, the link 3|and the short arm 1/ of the bell crank [9' are at substantially rightangles affording a more favorable leverage arrangement, so that thespiral spring 32 can then exert a more effective lifting force .to thebell crank Hi. It is thus apparent that although the spring arm 32a isat this time virtually ineffective, the spiral spring 32 exerts agreater lifting force due to themore favorable leverage arrangement. Asthe bell crank I 9' approaches its upper limit of traveLthe spiralspring 32 gradually loses its force due to the fact that it is beingunwound but the link 3| and the short arm y of the bell crank l9gradually approach a substantially straightened toggle condition. Thisaffords a greater mechanical advantage so that although the spiralspring 32 is weaker, the leverage condition becomes more favorable andas a result, the lesser spring force is compensated for by the greaterleverage force. This greater leverage force due to the toggle condition,is to some extent offset by the downward component of force exerted bythe spring arm 3211. As a result of the lever conditions, spiral springand the spring arm, the lifting force is. substantially uniformthroughout the upward travel of the window glass [2. On the other hand,the downward movement of the window glass is resisted throughout itstravel by a substantially uniform spring resistance. Due to the opencoil condition of the spiral spring 32, the frictional resist ance ofthe spring during winding and unwinding is virtually eliminated.

In this instance, manual means is provided for imparting longitudinalmovement to the actuating bar 23 and for this purpose, the inner endportion of the bar is formed with rack teeth 34 onthe under side thereofand meshing with the..teeth 34- is a pinion 35 which is operated by ashaft 36 to which is fixed a crank handle 31. If desired, any clutchmechanism 38 well-known to those skilled in this art, may be employedfor holding the parts in adjusted position and since the clutch or brake38 forms no part of the present invention, detail illustration anddescription are not considered necessary. The pinion and associated.parts may be carried by a mounting plate 39 and fixed to the mountingplate is a stud 40 which engages in an elongate guide slot 4| on theinner end portion of the bar 23 and thereby assists in guiding therectilinear or longitudinal movement of the actuatingbar 23. Themounting plate as shown, is adjustable vertically or at substantiallyright angles to the actuating dow. glass, in its channels.

,bar 23, in order to reflect-alignment of the winsimilar tothebellcranks I9 and I9 above described; it being observed that theouter or free ends of. the levers have studs engaging in horizontallyelongate slots in retainer members depending from the window glass Ho.The angle portion of the bell crank lever .42 is connected by a pin 44to an upright channel member 45 which is carried by a mounting plate 46.The inner end of the bell crank lever 42 is pivotally connected at 41 tothe inner end portion of the bell crank lever 43 but at a point-spacedslightly inwardly from the extreme end thereof. The extreme'inner end ofthe bell crank lever 43 is pivotally connected at 48 to an actuating bar49 which also is rectilinearly movable in a plane crosswiseof or in thisinstance, at substantially right angles to the plane of movement of thewindow glass Ila. The angle portion of the bell crank lever 43 has astud 50 which is slidable in the channel provided in the channel bar 45.

vA helical soil spring has one end anchored to the bell crank lever 43intermediate the pivotal point 41 and the stud 50. The opposite end ofthe spring 5| has a hook engaging the end por-- tion of the mountingplate 46.

The outer end portion of the actuating bar 49 has rack teeth 52 withwhich a pinion 53 is engageable. It will be understood that a similaration may be efiected without departing from the pirit of the inventionespecially as defined in t appended claims.v

. What I claim is v Vehicle window regulator mechanism comprisinga. painof bell crank levers for slidingengagement at the free ends thereof witha window between said actuating member and an interme- V diate portionof. each bell crank lever.

crank handle (not shown) may be employed for operating the pinion 53,the latter being carried by a mounting plate 54. An embossed portion 55on the mounting plate 54 provides a tongue engaging the upper side ofthe actuating bar 49 and a stud 56 engages the opposite side of the barthereby to guide the longitudinal or rectilinear movement of the bar.

In operation of the regulator mechanism above described, it will beunderstood that swinging movement of the bell crank levers 42 and 43 iseffected in response to longitudinal movement of the bar 49 in onedirection or the other thereby raising or lowering the window glass l2a.During this movement the lever swings about its pivot 44 and the stud 50carried by the lever 43- slides vertically in th channel provided by'theguide bar 45. Upon downward movement of the window glass 12a, the spring5| is placed under tension thereby to assist in the upward movement ofthe window glass lZa.

From the above description, it is manifest that I have produced anexceedingly simple and emcient regulator mechanism which can bemanufactured on a production basis at a relatively low cost. Thestructure occupies a minimum of space within the door or-body structureand'can be readily and conveniently mounted in position of use. Thearrangement is such that throughout the up and down travel of the windowglass, ap-

e proximately the'same movement is imparted at all times to the glassfor the same movement of the crank handle, thus eliminatingobjectionable jerkiness in window movement which is an objectioninherent in window regulators presently in use. The counterbalancingspring feature is outstanding because it does not render the regulatordiflicult in operation at one point and extremely easy in operation atanother point. On the contrary, the regulator operates substantiallyuniform throughout itsentire movement.

It is to be understood that numerous changes in details of construction,arrangement and opera 2. Regulator mechanism for a vehicle window guidedfor sliding movement between positions covering and uncovering a windowopening, said mechanism comprising a pair of interconnected bell cranksengageable at their free ends slidably with the window, a common pivotfor the opposite ends of said bell cranks, means to impart conjointswinging movement in opposite directions to said bell cranks, said meansincluding a bar movable rectilinearly in a direction crosswise to theplane of window movement, and an articulated connection between said barand the angular portion of each bell crank.

3. Regulator mechanism for a vehicle window guided for sliding movementbetween positions covering and uncovering a window opening, saidmechanism comprising a pair of swinging bell crank arms, pivotalmounting means interconnecting the adjacent ends of said arms, means onthe free ends of said arms adapted for engagement with an edge portionof th window, spring means associated with at least one of said armsadapted to be placed under tension upon movement of said arms in onedirection thereby to'assist in movement thereof in the oppositedirection, an actuating member connected to operate said arms andmounted for shifting movements in a plane crosswise to the plane ofmovement of the window, and link means providing a connection betweensaid actuating member and the angular portion of each bell crank arm.

4. Regulator mechanism for a vehicle window comprising a pair of bellcrank levers adapted for engagement at their free ends for windowmovement, a common fixed pivotal mounting for the opposite ends of saidlevers, a'rectilinearly shiftable actuating bar, said bar having anelongate slot to receive said pivotal mounting for assisting in guidingthe movement of the bar, means providing operative connections betweensaid bar and the angle portions of said bell crank levers respectively,and spring means for counterbalancing said levers.

able actuating bar, a cross piece projecting from opposite sides of saidbar, links pivotally connecting projecting portions of said cross piecewith angle portions of said bell crank levers respectively, and a spiralspring having one end anchored to the angle portion of one bell cranklever and having its opposite end anchored to the adjacent link.

6. Regulator mechanism for a vehicle window comprising a pair ofbell'crank levers adapted for engagement at their free ends for windowmovement, a common fixed pivotal mounting for the opposite ends of saidlevers, a rectilinearly shiftable actuating bar, a pair of linksproviding operative connections between said bar and the angle portionsof said levers respectively, an open coil spiral spring having its innerend anchored-to the angle portion of one lever, an integralarm on theouter end of said spring having its opposite end anchored to theopposite end ofthe adjacent link, and said armbeing 'bowed'in adirection toward the window thereby to tension same.

JOHN B.- PARSONS.

